About multi-branch support

Visma.net ERP supports multi-branch functionality and provides several basic models for implementing most typical organisation structures.

In Visma.net ERP, an organisation has a company account with a company ID.
Within a company account, at least one branch is needed to represent the organisation itself.
If the organisation includes more than one branch, organisation branches are created within the same company ID.
The IDs for branches (Branch IDs) are based on the BIZACCT segmented key or they have the same segments as IDs for organisations, customers, and suppliers.

Since the branches are created within the same organisation, they have some shared data and some branch-specific data.

Each employee (user) is assigned to a specific branch.
To restrict user access to branch-specific data, you can configure a branch access role for each branch.
Then the branch employees will be able to access the shared data (as their roles allow) and the data specific to their branch.
To employees who are to have access to other branches too, you must assign the access roles for the branches in the user's scope.
For details, see: About security of organisation branches.
If a user has access to several branches, the user will be able to choose the branch he or she needs by selecting it from the window toolbar on each data entry window.

Some of the data is unconditionally shared and available in all branches for all users who have access to this data by their roles.

In addition to the financial year and periods, the organisation's branches share the following information:

• The chart of accounts.
• Subaccounts.
• Budget tree.
• Taxes, VAT categories, and VAT zones.
• Payment terms and overdue charges.
• Statement cycles.
• Customer and supplier classes.
• Customers and suppliers. You can specify for some customer and supplier locations a default branch with which they have operations, and this location will be unavailable for selection from other branches.
• Stock and non-stock items. If you need to view inventory by branch, configure the Inventory segmented key appropriately, with a segment designating a branch to which the item belongs. All items will be visible in the list of available items.
• Lot and serial classes.
• Units of measure and conversion rules.
• Posting classes for inventory.

Company tree and assignment maps should include work groups that belong to all branches. Approval routes may pass across the entire organisation.

You can use the functionality of restriction groups to assign specific accounts and subaccounts to a particular branch.
For details, see: About security of organisation branches.

The following entities are assigned to only one of the branches:

• Cash accounts (each of which is denominated in a specific currency)
• Warehouses
• Employees
• Buildings (a sort of fixed asset)

Do not create a subaccount segment for branches; transactions are marked by the originating branch in other ways.
Purchase invoices and invoices as well as other documents are associated with the particular branch in which they were created.
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If a user has a branch access role that provides access to only one of the branches, the user will be able to view only the documents related to the respective branch.

The multi-branch functionality, as it is implemented in Visma.net ERP, enables complex organisations to view the consolidated data from multiple branches without having to perform any additional operations and in real time. It is easy to configure consolidated replenishment or centralised payment of purchase invoice or view consolidated data on reports running them from the headquarters branch.

If a user has access to all branches, this user can view the data of any selected branch or the consolidated data by leaving the Branch field blank.
If a user has access to only one branch, this user will be able to view only the data related to the particular branch even if he or she runs the report that should show the consolidated data.

Replenishment is performed on a branch basis, although you can implement the following scenario: The headquarters has a large warehouse for which you configure automatic replenishment.
Warehouses assigned to other branches are replenished through transfers from the headquarters' warehouse.
Thus, your organisation will be able to save on volume discounts.

In your system, purchase invoices can be paid by a headquarters branch on behalf of other branches.
To do this, assign to authorised personnel the roles that provide access to branches.
Then the employees who pay the purchase invoices will be able to view the purchase invoices from all branches in the Supplier payments (AP302000) window.
The cash accounts from which payments are made should be assigned to the headquarters branch.